Morro held a pamphlet up. "It says here there's a new maul opening in Ninjago. But how can a new maul open in Ninjago... if mauling means getting attacked by an animal?"
Emma stared at him for a solid five seconds, unsure whether to laugh or just... leave. "...Morro," she said slowly, "you mean mall. Like, a shopping mall."
Morro frowned down at the pamphlet. "This says maul."
Emma reached over, snatched it, and squinted. Sure enough, in big bold letters: "GRAND OPENING OF THE NEW MAUL!"
Her brow furrowed. "...Okay, now I'm confused."
Morro gasped dramatically. "SEE?! I told you! Ninjago is letting a wild animal attack center open to the public! We need to warn people!"
Emma put a hand over her face. "No. No, no, no. It's probably just a typo."
But Morro was already pacing. "First it's this maul. Then it's a second maul. Then a whole chain of mauls! People will be getting clawed left and right—"
Emma groaned. "Morro. I promise you it's not that."
"Then why does the flyer say, 'Come ready for a wild time'?"
"...Okay, now I am slightly worried," Emma admitted.
"Should we go ask Annie what she thinks?"
Emma shrugged and grabbed her bag. "Sure. Why not."
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Emma slapped the pamphlet down on Annie's table so hard that Amy jumped and smudged her pinkie.
"HEY!" Amy yelped, glaring at Emma.
"Read this," Emma ordered, pointing at the bold letters.
Annie glanced down, then at Emma. "...New maul opening in Ninjago?"
"SEE?!" Morro exclaimed from behind Emma, waving his arms. "It's not just me!"
Annie raised an eyebrow. "Uh-huh. And what do you think that means?"
Morro crossed his arms. "It means some genius decided to open an animal attack park in the middle of the city."
Annie stared at him for a moment, then at Emma. "...Is he serious?"
"Dead serious," Emma sighed. "But I think it's just a typo. Probably a mall."
Annie turned back to painting Amy's nails without a hint of concern. "Then go check it out and come back when it's actually dangerous."
Amy, blowing on her nails, added casually, "If it is a maul, bring me back a tiger. I've always wanted one."
Morro gasped. "YES. Finally, someone who understands the potential here."
Emma pinched the bridge of her nose. "Oh dear Spinjitzu, I'm surrounded by lunatics."
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Morro and Emma decided they had to tell Mia about the "new maul." Now, you have to understand something about Mia—she's the kind of person who hears the word maul and immediately pictures a full-on apocalypse involving rabid raccoons, bears with vendettas, and possibly zombie alligators.
They found her in the training room, wiping sweat off her face after beating up a punching bag like it owed her money.
"Mia," Emma started cautiously.
Mia turned, eyebrows raised. "Yeah?"
Morro stepped forward, waving the pamphlet like it was evidence in a murder trial. "There's a new maul opening in Ninjago."
Mia froze. "...A what?"
Emma quickly clarified, "It's probably a mall, you know—shops, food courts, overpriced bubble tea—"
But Mia wasn't listening anymore. She was already marching toward the weapons rack.
"Mia..." Kai's voice came from the doorway. He'd clearly been eavesdropping because he was already frowning.
She grabbed her katana. "If there's a maul, I'm not taking chances. I'm going in armed."
"Armed how?" Morro asked, curious but also mildly horrified.
Mia turned around holding something so big and shiny that everyone in the room collectively took a step back.
It was a gun. Not just a gun—a ridiculously overpowered, "if this thing goes off the city might not exist anymore" kind of gun.
"Mia—" Jay burst in, having heard the commotion. He nearly choked when he saw the weapon. "WHOA WHOA WHOA, put the death cannon down!"
"It's not a death cannon," Mia said calmly, checking the ammo. "It's for emergencies. This sounds like an emergency."
"No, it doesn't," Kai said, crossing the room quickly. "It's not a maul, it's a mall. Like, you buy pretzels there. Not fight off wild animals."
Emma nodded rapidly. "Yeah, the only danger is accidentally spending 300 bucks on shoes you don't need."
Mia tilted her head, unconvinced. "And you're sure there won't be wild animals?"
"Positive," Jay said, carefully trying to take the gun from her. She didn't let go.
"Mia," Kai said, using his "I'm the older, responsible one" tone. "Do you really want to be the person who walks into a shopping mall with that? People will freak out. Security will freak out. I'll freak out. It'll be a whole freak-out fest."
Mia blinked at him. "But what if it is a maul?"
Emma stepped forward, grabbing her friend's shoulders. "If it's a maul, I will personally hand you this gun and stand aside while you save us all. But first, can we at least check without scaring every civilian within a five-mile radius?"
Mia stared at her for a long moment.
"...Fine," she said finally, shoving the gun back onto the rack. "But if I see one rabid ferret—"
"You won't," Kai cut in quickly.
"—or a bear with a vendetta—"
"You won't," Jay added.
"—or even a squirrel that looks at me funny—"
Emma groaned. "We'll call you, okay?"
"Deal," Mia said, crossing her arms. "But you're all buying me boba afterward."
And with that, crisis (and possible property damage) was narrowly avoided. For now.
